I love writing about topics that spark my curiosity, which dovetails nicely with what I am covering here: Millennial workplace trends, corporate renegades, and pop culture. I grew up in Oregon, and currently live in New York City. I love all things business and admire the entrepreneurs who are able to transform their dreams into profit.

Why Millennial Women Are Burning Out At Work By 30

Young professional women may not relate to the financial struggles their Millennial peers are protesting against during the Occupy New York movement. After all, these ambitious go-getters are working as doctors, lawyers, engineers, and advertising executives, blessed with great salaries, health benefits, and paid vacation.

But these women understand the protestors’ frustration and unhappiness over the fact that their lives aren’t supposed to turn out this way. This is why a growing number of young professional women who seem to “have it all” are burning out at work before they reach 30.

These early career flameouts are reflected through the corporate ladder. Today, 53% of corporate entry-level jobs are held by women, a percentage that drops to 37% for mid-management roles and 26% for vice presidents and senior managers, according to McKinsey research. Men are twice as likely as women to advance at each career transition stage. One rationale is that men are more likely than women to do things that help their personal wellbeing at work, thus negating burnout, according to the Captivate Network. Men are 25% more likely to take breaks throughout the day for personal activities, 7% more likely to take a walk, 5% more likely to go out to lunch, and 35% more likely to take breaks “just to relax.”

It seems relaxation is something Millennial women have never experienced. One reason that women are burning out early in their careers is that they have simply reached their breaking point after spending their childhoods developing well-rounded resumes. “These women worked like crazy in school, and in college, and then they get into the workforce and they are exhausted,” says Melanie Shreffler of the youth marketing blog Ypulse.

Many also didn’t think of their lives beyond landing the initial first job. “They need to learn life is a marathon, not a sprint,” says Kelly Cutrone, president of People’s Revolution PR and author of “If You Have to Cry, Go Outside: And Other Things Your Mother Never Told You.” Ypulse’s Shreffler adds, “They expected things to be better now that they’ve arrived and made it. But instead they are starting over on the bottom rung and still striving. You can’t see the end of the tunnel because they are so many twists and turns. It’s impossible to see what life will be like in 20 years these days. It’s hard to look just 3-4 years in the future. They don’t know what they are striving for, which makes it really hard to move forward.”

Even those who did plot out their lives past the initial first career have unrealistic expectations about full-time employment. It’s not as if these women expected their jobs to be parties and good times, but many underestimated the actual day-to-day drudgery. “College is nothing more than a baby-sitting service. These students are totally unprepared for the real world. The reality for women who want to work in PR is that they are going to be working with 24 catty [women] who will backstab and compete with them. No one will say thank you. You will eat lunch at 5 p.m. It sucks and it’s hard work,” says Cutrone.

All of this unhappiness has left young women struggling over their next move. Simply quitting or changing careers isn’t an option because the education for their professional jobs has burdened them with substantial student debt. Also, while earlier generations may have opted out of the workforce through marriage or motherhood, these paths aren’t viable for these self-sufficient women, who either are still single or unwilling to be fully supported by men.

Instead, Millennial women are tapping into their Type-A personalities to combat this fatigue. “It’s important to analyze what is causing the dissatisfaction,” says Purdue University’s Teri Thompson. “The old adage, ‘Out of the frying pan and into the kettle’ is filled with wisdom: often we leave a job because of unhappiness and in our zeal to get away, we fall right back into the same traps, the same situations.” Therefore, these women are requesting more flexible schedules or seeking different work responsibilities. Many are turning to therapists and prescription medicines, as well as explore alternative remedies, including acupuncture, yoga, and even psychics.

Ultimately these women are going through the difficult realization that they may have to redefine their goals and come up with different measures of success in order to thrive in the corporate world, says Thompson. “It often takes many years to really understand one’s strengths and where one finds happiness. In a sense, I do think it’s unrealistic to assume a long sought-after job can bring one such happiness that one’s searching is done. We’re all a work in progress; new inputs—from new friends to new places visited—mean we’re constantly changing in our thoughts of what’s desired, what’s possible, what’s fun, what we want to do.”

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Take a dispassionate look at where you are today, and decide on where exactly you hope to land up within a certain time frame. Without a clear goal, all your efforts will be futile. Don’t set your goals without considering your existing or future family responsibilities. The pursuit of your career goals should not entail giving up on other important aspects of life

Very interesting and intruiging article , well I totally agree that women today have too much pressure to handle . They have to go through many challenges to prove themselves . The fact mentioned that they spent school and college years struggling and working hard to achieve their dreams ( getting a smart job and having a remarquable career ) makes girls and women so excited and build lots of unrealistic expectations ( about how they ll excel easily and deal smart with any problems they ‘d meet in their work ) till they face the ugly truth and find out the real world . Here ,if they aren’t strong enough , they ll burnout . Really women make lots of efforts and always try to fulfill their double role : as a mum ( at home ) and a hardworker outside the home . However , still in the world many people see them as fragile creatures , bad desision-makers and too emotional to take leadership roles .

“However , still in the world many people see them as fragile creatures , bad desision-makers and too emotional to take leadership roles .” which is why they are not promoted to leadership roles- people still do not want to admit there is a HEALTHY whooping of good ol boy sexism out there. AND HEY GUESS WHAT? NOT ALL WOMEN HAVE KIDS- there are GASP! women who dont have kids and have dedicated their life to their work- explain their struggles…oh right politics.

What challenges do women have to go through? What pressure? the Red heels or the Black? soup or salad? I know of no challenge a woman goes through in the working world that a man hasn’t or doesn’t 10 times a day.

If people see them as fragile creatures , bad decision-makers and too emotional to take leadership roles, maybe it’s because they are.

Hence this forum and article here, that you are commenting on right now.

A fragile creature, who has made a bad-decision, and failed to lead herself correctly by allowing popular society to take the role – has burned out. We’re standing right in it dude and you act like it ain’t happening.

well, I don’t know about all you women but my goal was reached when my little shiny baby butt arrived here on Mother Earth…

and for all most seventy years I’ve been preparing my body on its demise while nourishing my soul in what it has to look forward to when this O’fart’s ticker runs out of the fuel for life….

You women need to chill a little….

cause from what I have been reading in the past fifty years….

Women’s Lib is screwing more often than you are….

duh!

“Women’s Liberation”….first spoken in 1964 and put in print two years later….

and Millennial kids show up in 77′ from mostly latchkey kids of Generation X…..

and they are burning out at work by the age of 30…..

At that rate it makes this O’fart think….

maybe you “Millennial Women” never did learn how to make your bed after you slept in it….

“The most glorious moments in your life are not the so-called days of success, but rather those days when out of dejection and despair you feel rise in you a challenge to life, and the promise of future accomplishments.” – Gustave Flaubert

See my user handle. I so love it when d00dz decide to MANsplain life to me!

As for the article, it’s useless. Sexism, or the second shift at home? Nah, has to be that teh silly gurlz don’t know what they want and don’t want to work hard. Larissa Faw, check your internalized misogyny.

Ah, hello thx4themansplanation! I love a fellow blamer in the morning! Misogyny is alive and well in 2012 and we need look no further than these comments to see it:

“I’m sick and tired of the whining and excuses people make for women and reasons for why we “have it so hard”, when in fact, we have it a lot easier than men.” –lauraszy (Who also asserts that there is no sexism in the workplace, except for all that rampant sexual harassment done by women!)

“it’s no wonder you are an engineer — you sound intelligent, unlike most of your gender’s freak show of basket cases.” –vras19

“I am glad to see another intelligent woman.” -tikij (Wherein “intelligent” is synonym for “patriarchy affirming.”)

With “friends” like these, what woman needs enemies? Ladies, these are your co-workers, in every office across America. Do you have a vagina? Rest assured they hate you.

women see the world from a different perspective. i been financing girls startups, and i say women are better in their own companies. quit the company and start your own. i never seen a woman who wanted to go back to companies once she had her own show running. and they work 24×7. with a smile from ear to ear. note: most of them paid me before due date.